Thursday, July 16, 2009

Bloomberg's Williamsburg legacy

Construction began at a phenomenal pace. In 2005 alone, there were 130 new projects in the works; since then, over a thousand proposals have been filed with the local community board—including a handful of buildings with more than 200 units apiece. As the frenzy ensued, few developers seemed to entertain the critical question of whether a neighborhood with mediocre schools and a median income of $25,892 (less than that of decidedly ungentrified Crown Heights) was fully prepared to lure hordes of young professionals willing to pay Manhattan prices. “Basically, dreams were being built upon dreams,” says Matthew Haines, the chairman of PropertyShark .com, a website founded in the neighborhood that aggregates real-estate data. “The first developers out the gate thought they might—might—be able to ask around $500 or $600 a square foot. Soon they had bid each other up to $1,000 a square foot. It was ridiculous, considering that in Manhattan you could still buy for $800, but the buyers were there, so no one was really worried about what that meant.”

Heroin-addict hobos from around the country are overrunning hipster haven Williamsburg - living in stalled luxury condo projects in the trendy Brooklyn neighborhood.

The newcomers, who call themselves "gutter punks," are stirring outrage among residents and shopkeepers who charge the bums brawl on the sidewalk, shoplift and shoot heroin in trendy cafe bathrooms.

"It's like St. Marks in the '70s," said Williamsburg activist Philip DePaolo, referring to the notorious East Village hangout. "It's the bad old days all over again. There's crack and heroin all over the neighborhood."

The squatters, from middle-class families, hop freight trains to the city, where they can earn up to $150 a day panhandling in Manhattan. At night, like plenty of other borough commuters, they return to their homes: grubby hideaways inside boarded-up lots that pock the once-booming neighborhood.

"I've got to sleep somewhere, and I might as well do it in Williamsburg," said Stuart, 22, a Florida college dropout.

The admitted alcoholic and heroin user makes $15 an hour panhandling in Union Square, holding a sign that reads "Traveling Broke and Sexy."

Gutter punk Johnny has traveled hobo-style all over the country, but he has never had it as good as he does in Wlliamsburg.

He's just a short train ride from Manhattan, where he panhandles on Wall St. to pay for a hefty drug habit, his friends said.

Since November, Johnny and his galpal have been living rent-free with their pit bull.

They crashed in an abandoned building and in makeshift sheds on empty lots after coming to Williamsburg.

When they were house-hunting, they chose stalled construction projects like one at 205 North Ninth St. near Driggs Ave., which was going to be a seven-story residential building but is now an empty lot circled by plywood.

The admitted alcoholic and heroin user makes $15 an hour panhandling in Union Square, holding a sign that reads "Traveling Broke and Sexy."

Who the eff is giving their hard-earned money to this bum? What?! No trust fund from Daddy? Cue the violins.

"The girls here like it that I'm dirty and I ride trains," he added.

Ah, yes -- the Bad Boy. Such a turn-on. He's quite a catch, girls. The line forms near the subway entrance at the southwest corner of the plaza. Let the catfight commence.

Since November, Johnny and his galpal have been living rent-free with their pit bull.

They crashed in an abandoned building and in makeshift sheds on empty lots after coming to Williamsburg.

When they were house-hunting, they chose stalled construction projects like one at 205 North Ninth St. near Driggs Ave., which was going to be a seven-story residential building but is now an empty lot circled by plywood.

How romantic! Oh how it brings a tear to my eye. I must seek him out in Union Square to make a hefty contribution to him and the Missus and Max.

This isn't about overdevelopment.It's about bums, squatters, and drug addicts.Get the issues straight.

--------------

Overdevelopment takes many forms but the bottom line is that it destroys the underpinings of a community: the owner occupied buildings with families that have a long term commitment to their neighborhood.

It might be the soul crushing megatowers in Manhattan, self contained, self absorbed, a blank wall to the street advertising the 'Opportunites For You At Bank of America' for half a block.

It might be absentee landlords cramming 2 or 3 family homes with a revolving door of faceless nonpeople who are just passing through to something better.

It might be a poorly thought out urban policy that brings in a million people living in hundreds of poorly-built out-of-scale barricks in your back yard.

Your services are falling because your taxes are paid to sustain this new development.

Your local officials have their own agendas (development, world hunger, development, Bengladeshi cyclones, development, renaming things), all with little benefit to you.

Spotted a piece of Queens Crap in your community?

Please note

Italicized passages and many of the photos come from other websites. The links to these websites are provided within the posts.

Why your neighborhood is full of Queens Crap

"The difference between dishonest and honest graft: for dishonest graft one worked solely for one's own interests, while for honest graft one pursued the interests of one's party, one's state, and one's personal interests all together." - George Washington Plunkitt

Sites that kick ass:

The above organizations are recognized by Queens Crap as being beneficial to the city as a whole, by fighting to preserve the history and character of our neighborhoods. They are not connected to this website and the opinions presented here do not necessarily represent the positions of these organizations.

The comments left by posters to this site do not necessarily represent the views of the blogger or webmaster.